Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Farmers need better weather to avoid losing more crops

From the Sylvania Telephone

Screven County farmers who already have lost half to three-quarters of their corn crop are hoping cooler weather and showers will spare beans and cotton.

“It has been getting very crispy for farmers,” said extension agent Ray Hicks. “

All of Southeast Georgia has been hit by a string of days with unusually high temperatures – highs in the 90s and heat indexes over 100. But Screven County has fared worse than surrounding areas as far as rainfall, said Jonathan Lamb, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston.

Screven County farmer Stuart Boykin estimated he’s lost 70 percent of the yield on the 550 acres he has planted in corn. The majority of his corn is planted on dry land, meaning without irrigation. Even the acres that have irrigation have been a disappointment because he’s had to irrigate 12 to 18 times, and raising a crop entirely watered by irrigation isn’t cost-effective, he said.

Farmers all over Georgia have had a hard time due to the weather, esecially Watermelon Farmers. I know some crops are not great this year due to record heat, with corn farmers being hit the hardest due to the heat that ruined most of the corn crop.

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